noice
aesthetically this goes absolutely raw but unfortunately that's not good enough to make up for the wikipedia armchair philosopher storyline and extremely tedious gameplay
Simplesmente incrível. Um jogo intrigante, com um mistério que nunca é revelado de forma esdrúxula na sua cara, fazendo com que você realmente se sinta investido em desvendá-lo. Além disso, o criador conseguiu pensar totalmente fora da caixa para te apresentar uma proposta única. Realmente é uma experiência que só pode ser alcançada por um jogo de PC, e nenhum console seria capaz de replicá-lo em sua integridade.
Além disso, é muito criativo com seus temas, e consegue subverter suas expectativas a todo momento. Me lembrou muito de jogos antigos que pediam para você checar algo no manual ou na caixa do jogo, mas adaptado para um cenário moderno. Só por isso, já mereceu 4 estrelas.
Esse jogo respira, vive além dos bytes que o compõe (o que é engraçado, considerando o tema dele). É uma prova cabal que desenvolvedores independentes carregam nas costas toda a criatividade da indústria de jogos, arriscando para entregar algo nunca antes experimentado e fora do comum.
Além disso, é muito criativo com seus temas, e consegue subverter suas expectativas a todo momento. Me lembrou muito de jogos antigos que pediam para você checar algo no manual ou na caixa do jogo, mas adaptado para um cenário moderno. Só por isso, já mereceu 4 estrelas.
Esse jogo respira, vive além dos bytes que o compõe (o que é engraçado, considerando o tema dele). É uma prova cabal que desenvolvedores independentes carregam nas costas toda a criatividade da indústria de jogos, arriscando para entregar algo nunca antes experimentado e fora do comum.
A verdade é subjetiva, multidimensional. A certeza do eu-jogador é falsa e seu ato uma rebeldia mecânica; tomar as rédeas de si mesmo configura um esforço desesperador. Quem vê através de meus olhos? Toda decisão que tomo é consciente? O que acontece se sou apenas um passageiro do meu piloto automático, ou de alguma outra coisa (uma ideia, uma crença, uma vontade)?
Who’s Lila levanta muito mais perguntas do que se interessa em responder, ainda que não economize em revelar, das mais deliciosas formas, faceta após faceta de seu quebra cabeça recursivo. Sabe atiçar: é misteriosa, obscura, mentirosa até, porém nunca perde o engajamento, incitando a curiosidade através de um caleidoscópio de pontos de vista que mantém um retrato da realidade que é nebuloso, vivo, em constante fermentação. Pode ser que você saia um pouco diferente disso.
Who’s Lila levanta muito mais perguntas do que se interessa em responder, ainda que não economize em revelar, das mais deliciosas formas, faceta após faceta de seu quebra cabeça recursivo. Sabe atiçar: é misteriosa, obscura, mentirosa até, porém nunca perde o engajamento, incitando a curiosidade através de um caleidoscópio de pontos de vista que mantém um retrato da realidade que é nebuloso, vivo, em constante fermentação. Pode ser que você saia um pouco diferente disso.
I literally devoured it in one day... the day before my upcoming exam, yey...
I was expecting some gimmicky game about making the right expressions, and laughing at the most ridicolous ones. Couldn't have been farther from the truth. I played Oneshot yesterday, and still, the game managed to blow my fucking mind. Cryptic, toughtful, atmosferic, simply amazing. I hope the industry will follow the same approach, 'cuz in my opinion videogames express their full potential when following this approach.
I was expecting some gimmicky game about making the right expressions, and laughing at the most ridicolous ones. Couldn't have been farther from the truth. I played Oneshot yesterday, and still, the game managed to blow my fucking mind. Cryptic, toughtful, atmosferic, simply amazing. I hope the industry will follow the same approach, 'cuz in my opinion videogames express their full potential when following this approach.
A fascinating, ornately Lynchian horror art piece. The use of the repeated traversal through a single day with Stanley Parable-esque branching decision points leading to different stories and perspectives marries fantastically well to the surreal abstraction of the game's story. The ARG stuff is cute as well, although it's certainly a shame to think that this game will likely be unplayable in ten or twenty years.
My one complaint with this, which is simultaneously a nitpick and a major issue, is its use of GAN-generated "photos" for the human faces. Even if this is an intentional artistic choice, so-called "AI art" is antithetical to the practice of art as a whole and should be given no oxygen whatsoever. It would not be infeasible to take portraits yourself if you needed them, and it's a shame that this holds me back from wholeheartedly recommending this game.
My one complaint with this, which is simultaneously a nitpick and a major issue, is its use of GAN-generated "photos" for the human faces. Even if this is an intentional artistic choice, so-called "AI art" is antithetical to the practice of art as a whole and should be given no oxygen whatsoever. It would not be infeasible to take portraits yourself if you needed them, and it's a shame that this holds me back from wholeheartedly recommending this game.
truly a game that's hard to explain. a highly unique experience with arg elements and so many interesting concepts that i genuinely cannot get into without spoiling. try to go in as blind as you can. my one complaint is from an achievement hunter perspective, but that's barely enough to dent my overall enjoyment. a story that can potentially be nonlinear if you happen to stumble into certain revelations early. look at the hierophant card last.
I got this game as a Christmas gift and it did not disappoint!
one of the only video games i loved, am giving a rating, and will never finish. i will admit, i should have quit earlier, as i continued to get a couple more endings after i had already figured the mystery out. oh well. at least i got to see the projector, that was cool.
who's lila has got to be the most interesting use of the ever-pervasive metahorror cliche. garage heathen created something i have been dying to see from more games since i played lainpsx: a mystery that you, the player, are solving, instead of some character in the story. i've always hated how mystery stories tend to have this structure:
1. setup
2. minor hints
3. dramatic detective shit
4. ending that divulges literally everything
i understand why this structure is so common. people love watching sleuths dissect crazy cases or being kept on the edge of their seats by a wild thriller. but particularly in the case of books or interactive media, this format always seemed pandering and lazy. if this is truly a mystery, set up some solid clues and let me figure it out myself! who's lila uses its meta elements to make good on the promise of a mystery-solving game. it's super tight shit and i never felt pandered to in the slightest.
however, none of this clever bullshit would mean JACK if the game wasn't interesting. luckily for us, who's lila fires on all cylinders. i lost myself in who's lila for hours. don't dismiss the visual style as some hackneyed throwback to ancient pc games; combined with the droney music and minimal sound design, it enhances your intense alienation from the characters. and damn, those are some believable characters! i replayed a couple endings just to try out the branching dialogue options, cause there isn't a single line wasted here. shoutout to the nighttime walk scene hurting my feelings.
(also, its fun and silly to drag your guy's face around while his muscles fight you. i am adding this line later cuz i realized i didn't mention the actual gameplay very much)
who's lila is short, and by design has absolutely ZERO replay value (and i say that as a firm non-believer in games needing to offer a new experience on replays to have replay value). it's still damn well worth your money. go play it already.
who's lila has got to be the most interesting use of the ever-pervasive metahorror cliche. garage heathen created something i have been dying to see from more games since i played lainpsx: a mystery that you, the player, are solving, instead of some character in the story. i've always hated how mystery stories tend to have this structure:
1. setup
2. minor hints
3. dramatic detective shit
4. ending that divulges literally everything
i understand why this structure is so common. people love watching sleuths dissect crazy cases or being kept on the edge of their seats by a wild thriller. but particularly in the case of books or interactive media, this format always seemed pandering and lazy. if this is truly a mystery, set up some solid clues and let me figure it out myself! who's lila uses its meta elements to make good on the promise of a mystery-solving game. it's super tight shit and i never felt pandered to in the slightest.
however, none of this clever bullshit would mean JACK if the game wasn't interesting. luckily for us, who's lila fires on all cylinders. i lost myself in who's lila for hours. don't dismiss the visual style as some hackneyed throwback to ancient pc games; combined with the droney music and minimal sound design, it enhances your intense alienation from the characters. and damn, those are some believable characters! i replayed a couple endings just to try out the branching dialogue options, cause there isn't a single line wasted here. shoutout to the nighttime walk scene hurting my feelings.
(also, its fun and silly to drag your guy's face around while his muscles fight you. i am adding this line later cuz i realized i didn't mention the actual gameplay very much)
who's lila is short, and by design has absolutely ZERO replay value (and i say that as a firm non-believer in games needing to offer a new experience on replays to have replay value). it's still damn well worth your money. go play it already.
This review contains spoilers
I enjoy it most with a super non literal interpretation. I like to think the game uses horror to convey emotion. Since it's an arg there's an incentive to like, solve it and come to the correct conclusion but that feels more like math than art. And I'm always sceptical of args after the big trend of them flooded the market
The game has some moments that scared me in a way that felt unique. I really enjoy the main character, which makes it breaks games like this for me. Maybe makes or breaks all stories? I really like William Clarke, I can tell if I discovered this game as a young teen it would have changed me
The game has some moments that scared me in a way that felt unique. I really enjoy the main character, which makes it breaks games like this for me. Maybe makes or breaks all stories? I really like William Clarke, I can tell if I discovered this game as a young teen it would have changed me
This game is super weird and strange. It reminds me of one of an experimental PS2 game lost to time, or some other obscure secret. It's really good though, the mechanics are fun, the story is wild, and even doing all endings, it's not too long. A very fun game
This review contains spoilers
Wheeliam my beloved
WHO'S LILA! this game is totally worth a blind playthrough. I've written pages of journal entries in my physical journal meant for like, talking about myself, about this game. Mechanics wonderful Aesthetics wonderful Music? I did buy the soundtrack on purpose after playing! Wonderful. I even watched several very long videos after playing it just to see how other people interpreted it. Really good game.
William, your character, is unable to express himself. So the player has to help him move his facial muscles. This system is what dictates Who's Lila choice-based "social horror" gameplay. You steer the conversation and outcomes depending on your face.
However, that is surprisingly the least weird part of this 1 bit point and click mystery. The game itself is quite short, so you'll replay it a few times for different endings. But, without spoiling, at one point things get... very meta, and you'll have to interact with stuff outside the game to progress. Kinda like an ARG.
And this is where Who's Lila becomes absolute bonkers. It barrages you with Jungian psychology, concepts related to the archetype of ideas and ideals, Ego, qualia, consciousness, the notion of agency, personhood, the occult and esoteric. The elusive implications of its concepts defy rational though and gave me a harrowing feeling of existential dread.
Unfortunately, this game is impossible to complete without a guide because while most of the endings are relatively straightforward, others can be missed by not making just a single, unrelated and arbitrary choice early in the run. You'll have to tediously replay through lengthy sections just to attempt a different outcome.
That's the only thing preventing me from considering this game a straight masterpiece. Still, it's wonderfully unique in a conceptual sense and has some of the most insane narrative I've seen in recent years. I couldn't help but sit in wonder after wrapping up the true ending and beholding the final trick, most vile of them all.
However, that is surprisingly the least weird part of this 1 bit point and click mystery. The game itself is quite short, so you'll replay it a few times for different endings. But, without spoiling, at one point things get... very meta, and you'll have to interact with stuff outside the game to progress. Kinda like an ARG.
And this is where Who's Lila becomes absolute bonkers. It barrages you with Jungian psychology, concepts related to the archetype of ideas and ideals, Ego, qualia, consciousness, the notion of agency, personhood, the occult and esoteric. The elusive implications of its concepts defy rational though and gave me a harrowing feeling of existential dread.
Unfortunately, this game is impossible to complete without a guide because while most of the endings are relatively straightforward, others can be missed by not making just a single, unrelated and arbitrary choice early in the run. You'll have to tediously replay through lengthy sections just to attempt a different outcome.
That's the only thing preventing me from considering this game a straight masterpiece. Still, it's wonderfully unique in a conceptual sense and has some of the most insane narrative I've seen in recent years. I couldn't help but sit in wonder after wrapping up the true ending and beholding the final trick, most vile of them all.
This game has been my obsession for the last year, the story leaves yu on edge until the very end and i haven't played any game that can perfectly replicate David Lynch's style of storytelling without falling into absolute absurdity. Unfairly underrated.
There are various forms of death to be found in Who's Lila?
Physical death ?
Ego death ?
Author's death ?
The facial deformation mechanic might be underused from a gameplay perspective, however, it's absolutely not from a symbolic one, Who's Lila? is without a doubt one of the most focused games out there thematically speaking.
A game somewhat about social anxiety, probably about the free form of self, and, of course, about a dead girl wrapped in plastic.
Physical death ?
Ego death ?
Author's death ?
The facial deformation mechanic might be underused from a gameplay perspective, however, it's absolutely not from a symbolic one, Who's Lila? is without a doubt one of the most focused games out there thematically speaking.
A game somewhat about social anxiety, probably about the free form of self, and, of course, about a dead girl wrapped in plastic.
goosebumps every time. this is peak
One of the creepiest atmospheres in any game ever. Unpleasantly so. Eerie sound. Beautifully artistic game but some persistent game-breaking bugs hold it back. Thrilling experience otherwise, simply uncanny
Sem dúvida, este é um dos jogos mais criativos e interessantes que já joguei. Desde a mecânica de comunicação por meio de expressões faciais até o próprio mistério, não há um único elemento que não tenha, no mínimo, aguçado minha curiosidade para continuar explorando.
Jogá-lo até o fim é uma experiência que realmente vale a pena, mesmo com o uso de guias e possíveis spoilers. Isso se deve ao fato de que certas mecânicas e diálogos, disponíveis em loops menos intuitivos, contribuem significativamente para a compreensão do contexto e do mistério de Lila.
No entanto, como ponto negativo, devo ressaltar que tive dificuldades para encontrar a expressão facial correta no tempo determinado pelo jogo. Por isso, acabei optando por ajustar o tempo padrão para o máximo disponível.
Enfim,
Jogá-lo até o fim é uma experiência que realmente vale a pena, mesmo com o uso de guias e possíveis spoilers. Isso se deve ao fato de que certas mecânicas e diálogos, disponíveis em loops menos intuitivos, contribuem significativamente para a compreensão do contexto e do mistério de Lila.
No entanto, como ponto negativo, devo ressaltar que tive dificuldades para encontrar a expressão facial correta no tempo determinado pelo jogo. Por isso, acabei optando por ajustar o tempo padrão para o máximo disponível.
Enfim,
Really really interesting story
Haven't finished the game yet because it's longer than expected... A pretty intriguing prompt that may not answer many questions and will raise quite a few instead. Will get you thinking for a while after closing the game. Using external files to enhace the experience is very interesting as well!
Wow, what a game. It will be hard to really leave a review of this game effectively, without spoiling anything. I feel this is an experience best had without any knowledge of what to expect. Just know that you should definitely be playing this on a PC and not your steam deck or anything else.
This review contains spoilers
it's literally just an information hazard in video game form how could i not love this
also if you read this review without playing the game f u you're stupid. and you have now been infected by lila.
also if you read this review without playing the game f u you're stupid. and you have now been infected by lila.
Its like Skibidi Toilet but for virgins
This review contains spoilers
has such a deeply unsettling atmosphere that i can only describe as "yucky". the characters don't feel as if they live in real life, or anywhere in particular, just in some stateless featureless formless loop of vaguely urban existence. the visuals, from the 1-bit to the grainy 3D to all those uncanny expressions (and faces, period) all perfectly coalesce to build this aura
one of very few games with multiple endings that ive made the effort to get (almost lol) every ending. this would've extremely tedious if i didn't have the foresight to make multiple saves at multiple junctions that seemed important, and even then i was getting frustrated going through the motions of the last couple ones (especially the one with the expression in the beginning. iykyk). if it didnt have an easy mode id have been so over it. about halfway through the endings it just became untenable to spend time figuring out what to do next without a guide
(getting this to work properly on steam deck was a struggle, but maybe all the troubleshooting added to the experience idk. shoutout to https://steamcommunity.com/app/1697700/discussions/0/3362524231616178866/?tscn=1701468059#c7342617747186893594. why is this game still listed as verified for steam deck???)
idk how i feel about the ending/cumulative story. on one hand, i could see it coming, the hints at what was going on were well placed and spread out over routes. but the detective yu reveal in particular kind of irked me. it's interesting, but underneath the competence i can still identify what feels like a cheap shot/genre cliche — yet another "YOU are part of the game too" twist. but when you think abt the conceit of the game, "playing" by "playing" will, like a puppeteer.... idk what i expected.jpg
but you know what? i did buy this game bc of jacob geller's mention of it in a video essay, and bc i caught wind that there was an 8 hour video essay just on the game (also it was on sale). so, really, as i add that behemoth of a video to my watchlist, i am being tricked by lila, i am yu, i am pursuing endless, futile mystery... we're all feeding lila, an ouroboros of hunger and consumption...
you could even say that lila.....ate. [dragged off stage]
(speaking of yu the reveal for him should've been so cheesy considering the can-hardly-be-called-a-pun but i was genuinely confused because martha had said he was asian ["or something"] and his image did not appear to be [bl]asian so it stuck in my mind. so the yu/you thing genuinely pulled the rug out from under me 😭😭)
really compelled by the stranger and interested in reading more about whatever was going on there. lowkey think that is some kind of "estrogen could have saved her" moment
one of very few games with multiple endings that ive made the effort to get (almost lol) every ending. this would've extremely tedious if i didn't have the foresight to make multiple saves at multiple junctions that seemed important, and even then i was getting frustrated going through the motions of the last couple ones (especially the one with the expression in the beginning. iykyk). if it didnt have an easy mode id have been so over it. about halfway through the endings it just became untenable to spend time figuring out what to do next without a guide
(getting this to work properly on steam deck was a struggle, but maybe all the troubleshooting added to the experience idk. shoutout to https://steamcommunity.com/app/1697700/discussions/0/3362524231616178866/?tscn=1701468059#c7342617747186893594. why is this game still listed as verified for steam deck???)
idk how i feel about the ending/cumulative story. on one hand, i could see it coming, the hints at what was going on were well placed and spread out over routes. but the detective yu reveal in particular kind of irked me. it's interesting, but underneath the competence i can still identify what feels like a cheap shot/genre cliche — yet another "YOU are part of the game too" twist. but when you think abt the conceit of the game, "playing" by "playing" will, like a puppeteer.... idk what i expected.jpg
but you know what? i did buy this game bc of jacob geller's mention of it in a video essay, and bc i caught wind that there was an 8 hour video essay just on the game (also it was on sale). so, really, as i add that behemoth of a video to my watchlist, i am being tricked by lila, i am yu, i am pursuing endless, futile mystery... we're all feeding lila, an ouroboros of hunger and consumption...
you could even say that lila.....ate. [dragged off stage]
(speaking of yu the reveal for him should've been so cheesy considering the can-hardly-be-called-a-pun but i was genuinely confused because martha had said he was asian ["or something"] and his image did not appear to be [bl]asian so it stuck in my mind. so the yu/you thing genuinely pulled the rug out from under me 😭😭)
really compelled by the stranger and interested in reading more about whatever was going on there. lowkey think that is some kind of "estrogen could have saved her" moment
Maybe lila was the friends we made along the way
great lil horror thing, fucked my head in all the right holes good time 👍👍
idk, why you asking me?
continually eludes rational understanding, often brazenly so with each ending feeling like the twist climax to an entirely different game,,,on its own it might Explain Everything, but forced to exist with everything else it becomes a free associative nightmare with no bottom to the pit. and yet emotionally , it remains completely and constantly coherent...from the initially stressful Social Horror as u learn the mechanics, to the intimate horror of dissociation from the self, to the cosmic horror of the impossibility of quantifying a self at all...at least, not one that can be controlled by you. thank god you're Not you! you cant imagine anything worse then being you
laser targeted at at least fifteen of my mental illnesses
laser targeted at at least fifteen of my mental illnesses
this is what peak fiction looks like